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February 5, 1834 As railroads debate the use of steam over horse power, a satiric column appears in the West Chester Village Record urging the use of horse-drawn vehicles on the Columbia Railroad. The piece points out "the use of horses will create jobs for horse-breeders, blacksmiths, farriers, feed-growers, etc." The piece also says, "horses can go up to 12 mph and people should not desire to go faster. Besides only the rich will be able to afford locomotives."

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February 5, 1838 The Central Railroad of Michigan reaches Ypsilanti from the east.

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February 5, 1916 The last railroad-owned horse-drawn taxicabs are withdrawn from major Pennsylvania Railroad Stations. Increasing competition from private, motorized taxis have ended the service.

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February 5, 1927 Buster Keaton's movie "The General", the story of the Civil War Andrew's raid, is released. It bombs on its first release although it's now considered a classic.

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February 5, 1972 Airlines begin mandatory inspections of passengers and their baggage in attempt to curb hijackings.

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February 5, 1989 The Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe and J.B. Hunt truck lines set up an alliance whereby J.B. Hunt traffic will be moved off the roads and onto Santa Fe intermodal routes. The alliance begins when J.B. Hunt himself rides in a Santa Fe office car and sees how smoothly intermodal cars move across Illinois.

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February 6, 1815 John Stevens of Hoboken NJ is granted the first charter to build a railroad in the United States, the New Jersey Railroad Company. The line is never built. (Some sources say 1816).

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February 6, 1835 The Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad (later NI, LS&MS) is chartered to run from Buffalo NY to the Mississippi River.

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February 6, 1837 The Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad changes its name to the Northern Indiana Railroad. The line will manage to do some grading between Michigan City and La Porte IN before the money runs out.

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February 6, 1843 Through service begins between Albany and Buffalo with a gap at Rochester. The journey over several rail lines takes two days, with an overnight stop at Syracuse eastbound and Auburn westbound to avoid night running in winter.

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February 6, 1862 Pennsylvania Railroad executive and Assistant Secretary of War Tom Scott begins a trip scouting railroads in the Midwest for possible use against the South. The knowledge Scott gains will be called on during the PRR's postwar expansion.

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February 6, 1871 A New York Central & Hudson River passenger train strikes a derailed oil car near New Hamburg NY. The resulting fire kills 22.

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February 6, 1873 The Springfield, Athol & Northeastern Railroad (later B&A) is formed to rename the Athol & Enfield Railroad.

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February 6, 1879 Henry Roe Campbell, a pioneering Civil Engineer and the inventor of the 4-4-0 type steam locomotive, dies at the age of 72.

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February 6, 1883 The first train from New Orleans via the Southern Pacific reaches San Antonio. The first train from Los Angeles will arrive in San Antonio tomorrow.

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February 6, 1891 The Dalton gang robs its first train.

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February 6, 1908 The Kanauga Traction Company opens, operating with gas-electric cars between Gallipolis OH and Point Pleasant WV.

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February 6, 1908 The Florida East Coast opens its Florida Keys Extension to Knights Key, 47 miles from Key West, with a boat connection to Havana.

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February 6, 1951 Pennsylvania Railroad's "The Broker", a southbound express train running between Jersey City and Bay Head Junction is routed onto a temporary wooden overpass, built to allow construction of a permanent bridge over the New Jersey Turnpike. The train derails due to excessive speed. Some of the cars fall off the overpass, killing 85 of the 1,100 passengers. It is the deadliest U.S. train wreck since World War II. It is the third deadliest in US History.

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February 6, 1952 The New York Central approaches a consulting firm to study NYC's operating losses and to tailor its passenger services to actual demand.

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February 7, 1841 The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, earliest predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific is incorporated.

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February 7, 1849 Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri proposes a transcontinental railroad on the floor of the Senate.

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February 7, 1855 The Buffalo & Mississippi and the Northern Indiana & Chicago railroads (later LS&NI, LS&MS, NYC) are merged into the Northern Indiana Railroad.

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February 7, 1871 The Clayton & Theresa Railroad (later NYC) is chartered.

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February 7, 1880 The first Grand Trunk passenger train leaves Chicago for points east.

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February 7, 1899 The Raquette Lake Railway (later NYC) is chartered.

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February 7, 1922 The van Sweringen brothers buy the Toledo, St. Louis & Western, also known as "The Clover Leaf". It will become part of their Nickel Plate Road.

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February 7, 1940 British railroads are nationalized.

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February 7, 1950 The Illinois Northern is acquired from International Harvester by the Santa Fe, Burlington, Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads.

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February 7, 1954 Detroit's Jefferson Avenue trolley line is converted to bus.

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February 7, 1962 A derailing Pennsylvania Railroad freight train demolishes the Wayland MI passenger depot.

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February 7, 1973 The RTV31 tracked hovercraft is given its first tests in the United Kingdom. The vehicle, an early version of Mag-Lev trains, is cancelled a week later due to budget cuts.

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February 7, 1979 "Supertrain" debuts on NBC. The TV series, patterned after "Love Boat" but set on a super-wide, super-luxurious train, will be a super-bomb. It is the most expensive TV series to date, and its failure coupled with the boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games will nearly bankrupt NBC.

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February 7, 1983 Elizabeth Dole, the first female Secretary of Transportation is sworn in.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 4, 1830 The Camden & Amboy Rail Road, the first to be built in New Jersey, is chartered.

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February 4, 1841 President-elect William Henry Harrison becomes the first president-elect to travel by train to the inaugural, changing from stagecoach to the Baltimore & Ohio at Frederick, MD.

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February 4, 1887 The Interstate Commerce Act is signed into law, setting up a commission to regulate rates on the railroads and ensure that the interests of farmers and small businessmen are represented. Thomas Cooley of Michigan is the commission's first Chairman.

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February 4, 1895 The first rolling lift bridge opens to rail traffic in Chicago.

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February 4, 1907 The Pennsylvania Railroad completes its first all-steel RPO car at Altoona.

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February 4, 1911 In honor of the work being done on the canal, Illinois Central names its premier passenger train the "Panama Limited".

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February 4, 1930 New Orleans opens "tieless, shockless, noiseless" streetcar tracks.

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February 4, 1941 Santa Fe FT A-B-B-A set #100 becomes the first FT in revenue service and the first diesels used on a road freight on the Santa Fe.

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February 4, 1941 The USO (United Service Organizations) is formed by the merger of six charitable groups. In addition to entertaining troops, the USO will provide station lounges for in-transit U.S. service men.

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February 4, 1948 The last steam engine built for the Santa Fe, 4-8-4 #3752, is test fired at the factory.

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February 4, 1966 The last RPO car operates in suburban service: Southern Pacific, San Francisco to San Jose.

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February 4, 1977 In Chicago’s “loop”, a CTA train hits the rear of a standing train. Motorman Stephan Martin continued to increase power to his train, forcing cars off the tracks and onto the streets below. Eleven are killed and 180 injured, the worst accident in CTA history.

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February 4, 2016 Felix the cat, on duty as “Senior Pest Controller” since 2011 in Huddersfield Station, England is given her own cat door to allow her to pass through the gates keeping non-paying passengers away from the trains. The newly installed gates had prevented Felix from carrying out her task of keeping the station vermin-free.

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February 4, 2020 Durango & Southern 493 undergoes its first tests as an oil burner. The D&S is converting its coal burners to oil to prevent sparks that may start forest fires in the Colorado mountains.

Mark Tomlonson

February 3, 1858 A Michigan act extends the time to complete the first 20 miles of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad from December 1, 1857 to December 1, 1858, and to complete the whole line to November 5, 1865. This will be the first of many extensions granted to the GR&I.

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February 3, 1862 Thomas Edison becomes the first newspaper publisher to distribute his paper on a train. He sells his one-page Weekly Herald on a Grand Trunk train between Port Huron and Detroit.

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February 3, 1869 The Grand Rapids & Lake Shore Railroad (later PM, C&O, CSX) is formed. Next year the company will build a line between Muskegon and Nunica.

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February 3, 1881 The New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, known for most of its life as the Nickel Plate Road, is formed.

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February 3, 1893 Carferry Ann Arbor No. 1 is caught in the ice near Green Bay WI and will remain there for the next 63 days.

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February 3, 1903 The first Kenosha Electric Railway (interurban) opens for business.

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February 3, 1906 Thieves use nitroglycerin to break open the station safe in the Chicago Great Western depot in Marshalltown IA. The total take: $1.38 in pennies from the station’s gumball machine.

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February 3, 1918 San Francisco's Twin Peaks Tunnel, the longest (11,920 feet) streetcar tunnel, opens. The tunnel connects Market & Castro streets with West Portal and Ulloa.

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February 3, 1929 The Pennsylvania and Wabash railroads begin a through sleeping car service between Cincinnati and Detroit.

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February 3, 1935 Streetcars end in Madison WI.

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February 3, 1958 Railway Age Magazine reports 1,377 active steamers on U.S. rails and 1,709 in Canada. Mikados (2-8-2) are the most common type still steaming. The editors add, "The future of steam is in a museum."

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February 3, 1970 Great Northern issues its last public timetable.

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February 3, 1995 Canadian National sells the former Central Vermont line from New London CT to East Alborg VT to RailTex. RailTex will operate the line as the New England Central Railroad.

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February 3, 2004 Australia runs the first Trans-continental Adelaide to Darwin train.

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February 3, 2015 The Toronto Transit Commission removes a route sign it had posted at Downsview station last December after members of the public reported it looked too much like a penis. Other passengers who saw it thought it looked like a fungus or mushroom.

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February 3, 2020 Taking advantage of air rights obtained in 1977, construction begins on a 51-story skyscraper over the tracks of Boston’s South Station.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 2, 1832 The Lawrenceburgh & Indianapolis Railroad is incorporated in Indiana, that state's first. It is one of several railroads incorporated today. Only a small section of it will be completed.

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February 2, 1869 Dissident Grand Rapids & Indiana (later PRR) bondholders, including those favoring the "Allegan Company" (Kalamazoo Allegan & Grand Rapids (?) (later NYC)), plan to form a new company called the Michigan Northern Railroad to take the GR&I's land grant. Despite these efforts, the grant will go to the GR&I.

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February 2, 1880 Western railroads agree to a route plan, ending a sometimes-violent struggle for certain mountain passes.

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February 2, 1888 Richmond VA begins operating electric trolleys, designed by Frank Spraugue. This system follows over 60 attempts worldwide to create a successful trolley system.

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February 2, 1900 The Southern Ohio Traction Company opens between Cincinnati and Dayton.

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February 2, 1907 James A. McCrea suggests to his father, the President of the Pennsylvania Railroad, that a 1:60 scale model of Penn Station with electric trains be built to study and plan train movements. There is no indication this was actually done.

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February 2, 1907 The Elgin & Belvidere (interurban) opens for service between Marengo and Elgin IL.

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February 2, 1913 New York's partially completed palatial passenger station, Grand Central Terminal, opens in the center of Manhattan at 12:01 am. About 150,000 people will visit the new terminal today.

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February 2, 1925 The "Air Mail Act of 1925" is signed into law, authorizing commercial air lines to carry the mail. This will greatly aid the growth of commercial passenger air service.

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February 2, 1927 Canadian National opens Spadina Yard in Toronto. It is built on a former Grand Trunk yard that dates back to the 1850's. Construction on the yard will continue for at least two more years.

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February 2, 1939 The Seaboard Air Line introduces the "Silver Meteor", pulled by EMD E-4 diesels in a green, yellow and orange paint scheme. A contest had been held to name the train. The winner out of 76,366 entries has taken home $500.

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February 2, 1968 GP-7 #5609 becomes the last locomotive shopped at New York Central’s Collinwood Shops.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 1, 1832 "The Western Immigrant" newspaper of Ann Arbor MI suggests transcontinental railroad, the first mention in print of such a project.

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February 1, 1846 The first train arrives in Kalamazoo on the Central Rail Road of Michigan.

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February 1, 1854 The first train to use a single gauge over the entire trip between Buffalo NY and Erie PA on the Buffalo & State Line Railroad (later LS&MS, NYC) ?makes its run.

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February 1, 1869 The Carthage, Watertown & Sackets Harbor Railroad (later NYC) is chartered.

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February 1, 1870 The Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad (later PM, C&O, CSX) opens between New Buffalo & St. Joseph MI.

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February 1, 1871 The Kalamazoo & South Haven (later NYC, PC) is completed from Bloomingdale to South Haven.

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February 1, 1871 The Michigan Air Line Railroad (later MC, NYC) is completed between Jackson MI and South Bend IN.

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February 1, 1879 The Pennsylvania Company Board hears a report that a project is underway for a new railroad running between Grand Haven MI and Toledo OH via Allegan and Montieith MI using the tracks of the Allegan & South Eastern Railroad.

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February 1, 1890 Canada Atlantic Railway (later GT, CN) bridges the St. Lawrence River.

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February 1, 1900 The Grand Rapids & Indiana, Michigan Central and Pere Marquette railroads agree to enlarge and improve Grand Rapids (MI) Union Station.

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February 1, 1900 The Boston & Albany electrifies its Riverside to Newton Lower Falls shuttle.

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February 1, 1902 The Grand Rapids, Grand Haven & Muskegon (MI Interurban) begins service between Grand Rapids and Fruitport.

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February 1, 1903 The Pennsylvania Railroad cancels its premiere "Pennsylvania Limited" due to freight congestion in the Pittsburgh area. PRR feels that if freight crews no longer need to clear the line for 1-3 hours ahead of the Limited their time will be freed for more productive work.

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February 1, 1903 Kenosha WI begins electric streetcar service.

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February 1, 1907 The first scheduled car (interurban coach number 3) makes its run on the Ft. Wayne & Springfield. The car, under the apt control of motorman Smith and conductor Stroud, leaves Decatur with 25 passengers at 9:15 a.m. and arrives in Ft. Wayne at 10:45 a.m.

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February 1, 1910 In cooperation with Penn State, the Pennsylvania Railroad begins a free training program at its Altoona Shops to assist apprentices in math and engineering. The program will later be offered at other PRR ships throughout the system.

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February 1, 1913 Formal dedication ceremonies are held for the new Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

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February 1, 1916 The District of Columbia outlaws public drinking cups and towels. As a result Washington Union Station installs drinking fountains. Also at this time WUS begins replacing its arc lamps with incandescent bulbs.

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February 1, 1922 The Pennsylvania Railroad reverses a long-standing policy and announces plans to sell advertising space in its stations and trains.

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February 1, 1930 New York Central leases the Michigan Central for 999 years. The New York Central also leases the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway (The “Big 4”).

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February 1, 1931 The Pennsylvania Railroad asks employees for contributions of historical material to the railroad for a new museum at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Most of the collection, with the exception of the locomotive "Pioneer" will be sold in 1972 at the Penn Central auction.

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February 1, 1936 Railway Express Agency begins offering coordinated rail-air express service for the United States and 33 countries reached by Pan American Airways.

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February 1, 1938 Car retarders are placed in service at Chicago's Clearing Yard.

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February 1, 1947 The Long Island Railroad bans its employees from reserving regular seats for card players.

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February 1, 1953 The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy "Kansas City Zephyr" begins service between Chicago and Kansas City via the new Centennial cut-off. The train will be advertised as "Shorter, smoother, faster" because of the new trackage.

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February 1, 1968 The New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads merge to form Penn Central Transportation. To "protect competition", the Norfolk & Western is given control of the Erie Lackawanna and Delaware & Hudson. Instead of merging with the two companies, they will be put under the umbrella of "Dereco", a subsidiary created by N&W to manage the lines.

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February 1, 1970 An express train rams a stationary commuter train in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 236.

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February 1, 1971 Canadian National again withdraws the Turbos from service to begin a rebuild program.

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February 1, 1975 Railway Express Agency declares bankruptcy. The company will be liquidated later in the year.

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February 1, 1990 CN Rail begins running trains without cabooses (aka “vans”).

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February 1, 2016 Unusually low temperatures, heavy snow and a rush of New Year’s travelers combine to strand nearly 100,000 rail passengers at Guangzhou Railway Station in southern China.

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Mark Tomlonson

January 29, 1830 Papers are filed for the first railroad incorporated in Kentucky, the Lexington & Ohio Railroad Company.

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January 29, 1834 In the first use of federal troops to put down a labor dispute, President Jackson calls on the War Department to quell a "riotous assembly" of Irish workers on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad.

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January 29, 1835 The Morris & Essex Railroad (later DL&W) is incorporated in New Jersey to build from Newark to Morristown and further west.

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January 29, 1871 The Baltimore & Ohio stops charging state tax on through New York-Washington passengers using the Washington Branch. It had continued to collect the tax from passengers even though it hadn't been collected by Maryland for years.

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January 29, 1873 The gap between the eastern and western sections of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad is closed at Hawks Nest WV, completing the line to the Ohio River at Huntington WV.

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January 29, 1880 The Columbus, Hope & Greenburg Railroad (later NYC) is incorporated.

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January 29, 1902 Streetcar service extends from Appleton to Kaukauna WI.

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January 29, 1907 New York Central’s electrification project for Grand Central Terminal reaches High Bridge NY.

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January 29, 1909 The final spike is driven for the Virginian Railway.

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January 29, 1917 The Wabash Railroad leaves Pittsburgh, and the Wabash-Pittsburgh Terminal Railroad becomes the Pittsburgh & West Virginia.

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January 29, 1927 The U.S. Post Office issues the first private mail contract, to William Boeing and Edward Hubbard to carry mail between Chicago and San Francisco.

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January 29, 1929 The Orient Express becomes trapped in snow in Western Turkey for seven days, an event that will be fictionalized in Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express".

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January 29, 1940 Three trains collide in Osaka, Japan. The resulting explosion near Ajikawaguchi Station kills 181 people.

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January 29, 1963 Alco introduces its "Century" line of diesel Locomotives.

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January 29, 2010 An Illinois woman sues METRA, saying that she was injured by an exploding toilet one year ago today on a METRA train.

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January 30, 1834 The first railroad built in Kentucky, linking Lexington and Frankfort, is completed.

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January 30, 1875 The Detroit, Hillsdale & South Western (later NYC), which will run between Ypsilanti and Bankers MI is incorporated.

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January 30, 1883 The Toledo & Indianapolis (later T&OC, NYC) is completed.

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January 30, 1902 The Detroit Manufacturers Railroad (later NYC) is incorporated.

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January 30, 1923 The Grand Trunk is absorbed into the Canadian National. The Grand Trunk within the United States is spun off and becomes the Grand Trunk Western. CN will operate the GTW as a subsidiary.

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January 30, 1939 Streetcar service ends in Ashtabula OH.

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January 30, 1950 The Pennsylvania Railroad announces the beginning of "Keystone" freight service for less-than-carload freight. Five hundred boxcars and 3,000 containers are purchased. The new equipment along with higher freight train speeds are designed in part to compete with the New York Central's "Pacemaker" service introduced in 1946.

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January 30, 1985 Amtrak's "Cardinal" is pulled by steam, 4-8-4 #614T. The locomotive is winding up a month of tests, hoping to prove a modern coal-burning steam locomotive can compete with an oil-burning diesel.

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January 30, 2001 Master Railroad photographer O. Winston Link dies. Best known for his nighttime shots of the Norfolk & Western, some of his work reaches the status of cultural icon, quoted in commercials, music videos and TV's "The Simpsons".

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January 31, 1853 The Black River & Utica Railroad (later RW&O, NYC&HR, NYC) is incorporated.

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January 31, 1862 The Railways & Telegraph Act authorizes President Lincoln to seize and operate any railroad or telegraph line needed for the war effort. It also creates the U.S. Military Railroads to operate captured Confederate lines.

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January 31, 1882 The Rochester & Ontario Belt Railway (later NYC) is incorporated.

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January 31, 1918 The USRA begins operating trains loaded with just food and supplies for the Allies from St. Louis and Chicago to Eastern ports. The trains are run on a 60-hour schedule, versus 8-14 days previously.

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January 31, 1925 Trolley service ends in Ann Arbor MI

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January 31, 1927 The Cambridge Power Light & Traction Company is shut down by its owners, the Ohio Service Company, who can no longer justify serving the mere 3,000 people living along its route.

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January 31, 1932 Railway unions in the United States accept a 10% pay cut in hopes of easing the effects of the Depression on the railroads which will in turn allow them to keep their jobs.

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January 31, 1932 Findlay OH loses streetcar service.

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January 31, 1935 Union Pacific's M-10000 enters service as the "City of Salina" between Salina KS and Kansas City. The 116-seat train carries an average 280 passengers per round trip.

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January 31, 1939 The Pennsylvania Railroad's Class S1 6-4-4-6 duplex passenger locomotive leaves Altoona. It is the first steam locomotive out of Altoona since 1930. The locomotive will prove to be too big in many respects and will be confined to service between Chicago IL and Crestline OH. The lessons learned from this locomotive will be applied to PRR's class T1 4-4-4-4.

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January 31, 1951 The “Philadelphia Enquirer” reports that in 1950 the Lionel Corporation earned more than Baldwin Locomotive Works.

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January 31, 1957 Last passenger service on the Illinois Central to Paducah KY.

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January 31, 1961 The Decatur (MI) depot is closed by the New York Central. The small-town station had no scheduled stops and few riders. The planned consolidation of freight agent services in Kalamazoo has rendered the depot obsolete.

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January 31, 2000 Amtrak's New Haven to Boston electrification project is completed.

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January 31, 2009 Canadian National takes control of most of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern. CN has acquired the line to connect its Wisconsin Central, Illinois Central and Grand Trunk lines while avoiding the congestion of Chicago.

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January 31, 2011 FedEx begins using BNSF and Norfolk Southern Intermodal services as part of its Less-Than-Truckload division.

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January 31, 2012 WATCO completes its purchase of the Ann Arbor Railroad, running between Ann Arbor and Toledo.

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January 31, 2018 A chartered Amtrak train carrying 200 Republican Senators and Representatives to a retreat at White Sulphur Springs strikes a garbage truck at a grade crossing in near Charlottesville, Virginia. The truck driver is killed and the Amtrak head-end crew suffers injuries. Three of the Congressmen who are also medical doctors assist with the injured.

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Mark Tomlonson

January 28, 1823 The Pennsylvania Senate passes a bill allowing John Stevens to build a railroad from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania House will kill the bill in Committee.

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January 28, 1842 The State of Indiana halts funding of its Internal Improvements program, save for the Wabash & Erie Canal. All work on state railroads is halted.

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January 28, 1855 The first through train runs on the Panama Railway, the first transcontinental (trans-isthmus?) railroad.

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January 28, 1877 The Lake George & Muskegon River Railroad, Michigan's first logging road begins operations in Clare County.

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January 28, 1882 Cable cars begin service in Chicago IL.

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January 28, 1901 Cleveland OH shuts down its cable car service.

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January 28, 1907 The Winona & Warsaw Railway (a.k.a. Winona Interurban Railway) begins operations between Peru and Chili IN over the former Peru & Detroit Railway line it purchased last year.

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January 28, 1907 The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad begins electrified service in MU cars between Grand Central and Wakefield. Some trains continue to White Plains behind steam.

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January 28, 1919 The New York Central opens the "Commodore Hotel" across the street from Grand Central Terminal with 2,000 rooms.

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January 28, 1930 Streetcar service ends in Port Huron, MI.

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January 28, 1935 Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 Number 4800 brings the first electrically powered train out of Washington DC's Union Station with a round trip to New York City for the press and railroad and government VIP's.

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January 28, 1957 The Great Northern begins the use of a Univac 1 for payroll preparation.

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January 28, 1971 Transportation Secretary John Volpe reveals the basic system of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation or "Railpax". The system consists of 21 routes.

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January 28, 2002 The World Trade Center Station on the NYC Subway system reopens for the first time since the destruction of the Twin Towers.

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January 28, 2009 In China, a special passenger train added to handle the crux of passengers during the Lunar New Year holiday leaves Shanxi Province for Beijing with only two passengers. Chinese Railway officials believe that the tickets for the train were scooped up by scalpers and later seized in a raid by police.

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January 28, 2010 President Obama announces awards of $8 billion in Recovery Act funds for High-Speed Rail projects.

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January 28, 2014 The Mineral Range Railroad begins. The northern Michigan railroad operates on 12 miles of ex-Lake Superior & Ishpeming trackage along with an additional 1.9 miles of abandoned line that has been put back in service. The new line will serve the newly-built Humbolt Mill.

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Mark Tomlonson

January 27, 1824 The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company is incorporated in Virginia.

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January 27, 1836 The State of Indiana enacts "Internal Improvements" legislation, calling for roads, canals and railroads to be built. The program is to be funded by a $10.5 million loan.

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January 27, 1840 The New Jersey Railroad Board approves the issuing of commuter tickets, good between Jersey City and Newark, for $100 per year.

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January 27, 1851 The first train arrives in Dayton OH, on a trip that started in Springfield on the tracks of the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company (later CCC&StL, NYC).

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January 27, 1854 The Great Western Railway (later GT, CN) opens between London and Windsor Ontario.

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January 27, 1870 The Pennsylvania Railroad signs its first contract with the Pullman Company.

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January 27, 1877 The Fairland, Franklin & Martinsville Railroad (later Big Four, NYC, PC) is incorporated.

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January 27, 1879 The worst wreck in monorail history occurs when the Bradford & Foster Brook Monorail in Pennsylvania tests its new steam locomotive. Running at high speed to demonstrate its capacity, the boiler explodes, killing the fireman, engineer and three company officials riding a flatcar behind the engine. Other passengers were severely injured. The line will close shortly after.

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January 27, 1883 The Toledo & Indianapolis (later T&OC, NYC) reaches Bowling Green OH. The first “train” is a handcar.

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January 27, 1912 The Pennsylvania Railroad reports that last year's "Safety First" campaign has reduced injuries by 66%.

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January 27, 1940 The Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad, a narrow-gauge suburban railroad, discontinues operations in preparation for abandonment.

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January 27. 1947 The Chesapeake & Ohio begins accepting credit cards as payment for passenger tickets.

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January 27, 1962 Washington DC streetcars run for the last time.

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January 27, 2011 Amtrak begins providing WiFi service to Cascades Service riders between Eugene OR and Vancouver BC. Plans are being formed to extend the service system wide.

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Mark Tomlonson

January 26, 1876 The Pennsylvania Railroad Board decides to provide uniforms for conductors, train agents, brakemen, baggage masters, stationmaster and gatemen. They also approve construction of a "Centennial Station" in Philadelphia on the Centennial Celebration grounds.

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January 26, 1886 The Mountain Central Railway Company (later GN) is established)

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January 26, 1909 The Jamestown, Franklin & Clearfield Railroad (later LS&MS) is chartered.

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January 26, 1925 The "Orange Blossom Special" is inaugurated as a deluxe winter-only train, running between New York and St. Petersburg/West Palm Beach. ?It replaces the previous "All-Florida Special". (Some sources say January 27)

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January 26, 1927 The Michigan Public Utilities Commission approves the abandonment of the Grand Rapids & Indiana's Jennings branch. The abandonment of the 3.7-mile line between Jennings and Round Lake had been approved five days before by the ICC.

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January 26, 1964 Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee "Electroliners" make their debut as "Liberty Liners" on Philadelphia's Red Arrow Lines.

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January 26, 2004 RailAmerica completes its purchase of the Central Michigan Railroad.

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January 26, 2005 Juan Manuel Alvarez drives his SUV into the path of a Metrolink train in Los Angles in an attempt to gain the attention of his estranged wife, killing 11 and injuring 180. Alvarez will be sentenced to eleven consecutive life sentences. The accident will launch an investigation into the safety of "push" mode passenger trains, which will show they are as safe as traditional "pull" trains.

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Mark Tomlonson

January 25, 1842 Locomotive builder Baldwin & Vail tests a six-wheel geared locomotive. It will later be used on the Philadelphia & Reading.

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January 25, 1899 The St. Joseph, South Bend & Southern (later MC, NYC) is incorporated in Indiana to acquire the Indiana & Lake Michigan.

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January 25, 1901 The Lake Erie, Alliance & Wheeling Railroad is chartered. Although built by the New York Central, it never connected to other NYC rails. It will eventually be purchased by the van Sweringen brothers.

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January 25, 1905 Fairview Yard on the Pennsylvania Railroad is re-named "Enola", matching the nearest station and Post Office. A land company is authorized by the PRR to develop a town at Enola for employees.

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January 25, 1907 The Chicago, South Bend & Northern Indiana takes over all of the property owned by the Northern Indiana. The public will generally continue to refer to the new interurban company as the Northern Indiana.

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January 25, 1919 "Hotel Pennsylvania" opens in New York City. It is located across the street from Penn Station. With 2,200 rooms to handle mostly railroad travelers, it will be the world's largest hotel until 1927.

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January 25, 1928 The Board of the Pennsylvania Railroad authorizes spending $25,000 ($364,000 in 2018) for one Cummins Diesel locomotive.

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January 25, 1959 American Airlines makes the first commercial domestic flight of a Boeing 707 airliner. The 707, along with the Interstate Highway System, will deal major blows to the U.S. passenger rail system.

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January 25, 1963 Two thousand employees strike Florida East Coast Railway when the railroad proposes reducing the number of people required in a train crew. The strike will remain unsettled for nine years.

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January 25, 1973 Canadian National Railways expands the Turbos to 9-car sets, eliminating two Turbos. The remaining equipment is stored and will eventually be sold to Amtrak.

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January 25, 1979 22.2-km (13.79 mile) Oshimizu railroad tunnel is "holed through" in Honshu, Japan.

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January 25, 1995 Amtrak operates its last Dome car as the Lake Shore Limited pulls into Chicago. (Some full-length dome cars will continue.)

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January 25, 2011 The Association of American Railroads announces that the car defect card, in use for almost 125 years, is discontinued. Instead of using the 3.5 x 8 inch card, problems with freight cars will now be reported and tracked using AAR's Raillinc car-tracking program.

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Mark

January 22, 1857 The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (later PM, C&O, Chessie, CSX) is chartered to construct a rail line from Flint to Lake Michigan via Saginaw.

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January 22, 1858 The directors of the Great Western take control of the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad (later GT).

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January 22, 1869 The Muskegon & Ferrysburg Railroad (later MLS, GHR, C&WM, PM, C&O, Chessie, CSX, MQT) files incorporation papers in Michigan to build from Ferrysburg to Muskegon Harbor. The papers were drawn up last April.

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January 22, 1880 Jay Gould announces the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway (later Wabash) has leased the Toledo, Peoria & Western.

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January 22, 1893 The Ashland Light Power & Street Railway Company begins streetcar service in Ashland WI.

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January 22, 1912 The Florida East Coast's line to Key West is opened. It will become a popular passenger train destination with boat connections to Havana.

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January 22, 1914 The Great Northern opens a new passenger depot in Minneapolis.

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January 22, 1929 The driver of a Greyhound bus in Bellevue OH does not see an approaching Lake Shore Line interurban in heavy snowfall and pulls onto the tracks in front of the car. Nineteen of the 32 passengers on the bus die. Passengers on the interurban suffer only minor injuries.

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January 22, 1949 The first American Freedom Train officially ends its tour.

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January 22, 1956 A two-RDC train from Los Angeles bound for San Diego approaches a 15-mph curve at Redondo Junction near Olympic Street at 70 mph and is unable to slow down in time. Thirty people are killed and 130 injured in Los Angeles' worst railroad accident. The Los Angeles police are unable to completely control the crowds. Widespread looting of the dead and injured takes place. The LAPD ties at least one person to a tree in their attempts to restore order.

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January 22, 2014 A Pakistani teen, in England as part of a work-study program, is killed instantly when he places his head on the live third rail to see if a train is coming. In Pakistan, which does not use third-rail electric locomotives, it is common practice to listen for oncoming trains by putting an ear on a rail.

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January 23, 1869 George Westinghouse applies for his first air-brake patent.

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January 23, 1872 The Baltimore & Ohio completes the first grain elevator at Locust Point, Baltimore.

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January 23, 1876 A plan is formed to consolidate all railroads operating on Long Island NY into the Long Island Railroad, eliminating duplication of services.

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January 23, 1880 The Coney Island Elevated Railroad is incorporated.

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January 23, 1900 The Dayton-Xenia Traction Company opens from Dayton to Xenia via Belmont.

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January 23, 1905 The Great Northern-owned steamship "Minnesota" makes its maiden voyage from Seattle to ports in Japan and China. Patrons can buy a single ticket for their St. Paul to Tokyo journey.

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January 23, 1911 A new speed record is set for Washington to New York: 3 Hours 55 minutes. J.P. Morgan has rented a special Pennsylvania Railroad train for the trip.

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January 23, 1932 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins a trial of fixed ladders for upper berths in New York to Washington service.

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January 23, 1946 The Pennsylvania Railroad Board of Directors authorizes the purchase of 214 passenger cars to re-equip Blue Ribbon trains at a cost of $20.5 million. ($277 million in 2017) Eighty-seven cars are ordered from Pullman-Standard, 70 from Budd and 57 from AC&F. PRR wants the cars in the first quarter of 1947, but the crush of orders from other roads and postwar reconversion problems will cause the last delivery to be in August 1949.

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January 23, 1949 The Pennsylvania Railroad cuts its Chicago-Detroit service to two daily round trips.

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January 23, 1952 The Pennsylvania Railroad queries a consulting firm about reducing the financial losses of passenger service. The idea of eliminating long-distance trains duplicated by the New York Central and Baltimore & Ohio railroads is suggested.

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January 23, 1955 A new ticket bureau is installed in 30th Street Station, Philadelphia. With new "Ticketfax" and other machines, it can deliver a Pullman ticket in as little as 1 minute, as opposed to up to 1 hour previously.

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January 23, 1980 Amtrak AEM-7 900 makes its first trial run. The AEM-7's will eventually replace the GG-1's.

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January 23, 2014 The London Underground’s Victoria Line is shut down when workers accidently pour fast-setting concrete into a signal-relay vault.

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January 24, 1828 Horatio Allen of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company sets sail for England. His mission is to examine rail roads in that country and to buy 5 steam locomotives of no more than 5 ? tons, one of which is to come from Robert Stephenson & Co.

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January 24, 1833 Freight service begins on the Camden & Amboy Railroad. Three cars, each pulled by its own horse, provide the service.

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January 24, 1848 William Marshall discovers gold at Sutter's Mill on the American River in California. This discovery, combined with famine and revolution in Europe, will restore prosperity in the United States. Many railroad projects will be revived and new ones launched, particularly in the Midwest.

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January 24, 1853 The Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland Railroad Company (later LS&MS, NYC, PC, CR, NS) opens, forming the last link in the chain of roads from Chicago to New York and Boston.

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January 24, 1916 In “Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad”, the United States Supreme Court rules that the Federal Income Tax is legal.

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January 24, 1954 Cleveland streetcars make their last revenue run.

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January 24, 1970 President & Mrs. Nixon take the Metroliner from Washington to Philadelphia to attend a chamber music concert.

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January 24, 1980 Judge Frank McGarr orders the shutdown of the Rock Island Railroad. Lines south of Kansas City will quit by March 24. All other lines will finish up by March 31.

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Mark Tomlonson

January 21, 1841 George Hacker patents a passenger car based on a tobacco barrel. The car was intended to be 30’ long with 20 windows, but the design was never built.

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January 21, 1880 The Ontario & Western (later NYO&W) is incorporated to run between Oswego NY and New York City.

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January 21, 1903 The Grand Trunk moves into a new depot at Lansing MI. Grand Trunk officials tout the station as "the handsomest between Portland ME and Chicago".

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January 21, 1929 The Pennsylvania Railroad announces the formation of coordinated rail-bus service on some long distance routes. Travelers will ride the bus by day connecting to towns and villages not on the PRR, and then ride the train by night.

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January 21, 1931 The first of three boat trains leave New York for San Francisco. There they will connect with a Matson Liner for the trip to Hawaii.

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January 21, 1946 Streetcars end service in New Albany IN.

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January 21, 1954 New York Central President William White says he has made plans with Rail-Trailer Company of Chicago to introduce modern piggyback service on the NYC.

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January 21, 1963 The last Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee RR interurban train pulls into Milwaukee at 2:55 a.m., ending 68 years of service on America's fastest Interurban. One of the cars in the last train is currently on display at the Illinois Railway Museum.

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Mark Tomlonson

January 20, 1837 An advertisement in the “Toledo Blade” states that the Erie & Kalamazoo has received its first steam engine, and service will commence “in a few days”.

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January 20, 1848 The Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory is incorporated. It is a predecessor of both the Schenectady Locomotive Works and Alco.

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January 20, 1862 The Flint & Pere Marquette (later PM, C&O, Chessie, CSX, LSR) begins operations between East Saginaw and Mt. Morris MI.

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January 20, 1874 The Chicago lakefront depot of the Michigan Central, Illinois Central and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads is destroyed by fire.

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January 20, 1877 Charles Collins, Chief Engineer of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, commits suicide over last month's Ashtabula bridge disaster.

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January 20, 1880 The Illinois Central completes its purchase of the New Orleans, St. Louis & Chicago Railroad, which it has controlled since 1877.

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January 20, 1903 The Kanawha & West Virginia (later NYC, PC, CR) is incorporated.

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January 20, 1907 The Pennsylvania Railroad establishes trains 186 and 187, running only on Sundays between Chicago and Valparaiso IN. The trains are to serve city dwellers going to the countryside and returning in the evening.

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January 20, 1923 Canadian Government Railways incorporate as Canadian National Railways. Railways affected are Canadian Northern, Intercolonial, National Transcontinental, Grand Trunk Pacific Branch Lines, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island, International Railway of New Brunswick, Salisbury & Albert, Elgin & Havelock, St. Martin's, Lotbiniere & Megantic, Caraquet & Gulf Shore and the New Glasgow Iron, Coal & Railway.

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January 20, 1953 More than 600 coaches, sleepers, parlor cars and diners converge on Washington DC for Dwight Eisenhower's first inauguration. Over 10,000 people use parked Pullmans as hotels; two thousand one hundred at Baltimore & Ohio's Eckington Yard alone.

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January 20, 1959 The Seaboard Air Line opens its new St. Petersburg FL station.

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January 20, 1986 Plans for the construction of a railroad tunnel under the English Channel are announced. Actual work will not begin for another 23 months.

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January 20, 2009 Washington DC's Metrorail sets a record as it handles more than 930,000 riders. Most of the increase is due to the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

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January 20, 2009 About 200 Indians riding on top of a passenger train are swept off by a tree branch. The passengers, all of them young men, were traveling to an army recruitment drive. Three of the riders were killed.

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January 20, 2017 Reviving a tradition he began as a Senator, Vice President Joe Biden takes an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington following the inauguration of Donald Trump.

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Mark Tomlonson